South Cape children call for better public safety during neighborhood meeting

Children in Cape Girardeau's south-side neighborhood were given a voice Thursday night at the Shawnee Park Center, and they used it, calling for improved public safety and other needs.

Authentic Voices neighborhood group hosted the meeting, one of a number public sessions the group has held as it looks to spearhead efforts to revitalize the economically struggling area, which is home to many minority residents.

More than a dozen people, most of them children, attended the meeting.

The children, many of them teenagers, voiced concern about shootings.

"We need more cops," said 9-year-old Rieley Rutherford."

Jailyn Garmon, 14, voiced concern about shootings, burglaries and robberies. "They should make guns illegal," she said, then revised her thinking and called for making it harder for people to obtain guns.

Public safety wasn't the only issue.

Garmon said, "We need more kids' places."

She and others talked about the lack of recreational opportunities in their neighborhood.

Zadie Taylor Woodson, 14, said she wants to see more activities for children in South Cape Girardeau, particularly during the winter months. "You can do nothing outside during the winter months," she said.

Several children talked about the lack of dining options in their neighborhood.

Jacob Blackmon, 14, said, "I want to see more restaurants."

The children in attendance also offered up a number of other suggestions to revitalize neighborhoods, including opening candy shops and installing more trash cans to help clean up the area.

Blackmon said it was important for young people to "give our opinion" on ways to improve the neighborhood.

Melissa Stickel, one of the leaders of Authentic Voices, said the group has heard from adults in the neighborhood during past sessions. "We decided we wanted to hear from the kids," she said.

Koreena Woodson, another of the group's leaders, said after the meeting it is important to involve young people in efforts to develop programs and projects to improve the neighborhood.

The meeting offered "a good platform" to provide children a voice in such efforts, Woodson said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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